Kurdish Politicians Kept in Detention

A Diyarbakır court decided to keep 23 people in detention upon the "KCK investigation" carried out by the prosecutor's office. The Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) is the umbrella organisation that includes the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A group of people gathered after midnight, when the decision was announced, in front of the court house and started a sit-down strike to express their protest against the decision. MPs and provincial executives of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) are among the demonstrators.

According to Gün TV in Diyarbakı, these are the names of the people in detention:

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Spokesman Hatip Dicle, Diyarbakır Provincial Chairman of the recently closed Democratic Society Party (DTP) lawyer Fırat Anlı, Sur Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş, Kayapınar Mayor Zülküf Karatekin, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Deputy Mayor Ali Şimşek, Batman Mayor Nejdet Atalay, Cizre Mayor Aydın Budak, Human Rights Association (IHD) Deputy Chairman and Diyarbakır Branch President Muharem Erbey, Kızıltepe Mayor Ferhan Türk, Suruç Mayor Etem Şahin, Viranşehir Mayor Leyla Güven, former Viranşehir Mayor Emrullah Cin, former Batman Mayor Hüseyin Kalkan, former Dicle Mayor Abdullah Akengin, DİSK (Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions) General Manager Yaşar Sarı, former Ergani Mayor Nadir Bingöl, BDP employee Cebrail Kurt, Local Agenda 21 Coordinators Fethi Süvari and Ramazan Debe and Göç-Der Diyarbakır Branch Executives Abbas Çelik, Ahmet Makas, Kazım Kurt and Takibe Turgay.

The court decided to release Siirt Mayor Selim Sadak, Çınar Mayor Ahmet Cengiz, DTP members Adil Erkek and Yaşar Çelik and former Silvan Mayor Fikret Kaya. In the evening hours another 8 people were released, among them Bağlar Mayor Yüksel Baran.

"Take us in detention too"

More than 80 people related to the Peace and Democracy Party, human rights defenders and members of NGOs were arrested all over Turkey on 24 December. On 25 December, a group of people gathered in front of the Diyarbakır municipality building and protested against the arrests. After the decision for the detentions was announced, the crowd walked to the court house, among them BDP Chairman Demir Çelik, BDP MP and Diyarbakır Metropolitan Mayor Osman Baydemir. They carried out a sit-down strike throughout the whole night. In front of the police barricade, DTP members said, "We committed the same crimes, take us into detention as well".

BDP MP Selahattin Demirbaş argued, "Either take us into detention too or release our colleagues and friends. We are putting our request forward openly to the police officials. We are here to report ourselves. Arrest us all and take us all in detention or open the way for us that we can go the prosecutor's office to report ourselves. They should arrest us for the same arbitrary reasons they arrested the mayors for. Thousands of people are waiting outside, claiming to have committed the same crime", Demirbaş said.

Demirbaş indicated, "9 months have passed since the elections. We were not able to achieve anything within these 9 months with an operation every 10 days or once a month. And now the Secretary General was arrested. Tomorrow they might take the General Secretary into custody. Today they took the deputy chairman, tomorrow they will take somebody else. Arrest us all then, go ahead. Take the entire management of this city into custody".

Peace Parliament goes to Diyarbakır

At the same time it has been announced that the Turkish Peace Parliament was going to visit Diyarbakır on 27 December to express its solidarity with the Kurdish politicians and to speak out for democratic politics.

Diyarbakır Bar Association President Mehmet Emin Aktar criticized the picture showing the arrested people queued up in front of the court house, obviously being handcuffed. According to Aktar, this photograph was created to humiliate the the Kurdish politicians: "It is very obvious that this picture was taken to humiliate and demoralize the Kurdish politicians. We are going to file a criminal complaint against the ones who are responsible for this". (TK/VK)